Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-10-15
0KEFENOKEE SWAMP.
OASIS WHERE THE SEMINOLE CHIEF
 TOOK REFUGE IN 1896.

Account of a Tramp Through the Swamp.
 A Little Moss-Clad Island in the
 mArsh-stuek in a ouagmIre-An Ex-
 hausted Party.
 okefenokee, the great swamp on the southern border of Georgia, extending across Into Florida, has for a century been a mys- tery. It was the great retreat for the Semi | noie Indians. In the center of thi, immense swamp is an oasis, beautiful spot midway between Belly's island and the Roddenburg settlement. It was in this spot that Billy Bowless, the great Seminole, took refuge in lo56 and successfully deiied the attempts of the whites tO capture him Strange tales arc told in the neighborhood of fugitives nnding safety there who subsiSted on ths abundance of fish and game. The story of an authenticated exploration of this spot Is told by Mr. Charles Pendleton, who in com pany with Ben Marlborough, a local scout, and other penetrated the thick jungle which leads to 1t. His story runs thus:
 Camp Casena, " as our party christened It, was dry knoll covering about an acry In tho midst of marsh extending for miles apparently north and south, and s,ycrsl miles east and west. It was nearer. as it turned out, to the eastern swampwoOd than | Co the western. Its center was perhaps eight feet above the level of the surrounding marsh, and it tapered off to the water , e,lse. dwarted cypress which capped is summit was immediately surrounded by smaller ones, like courtiers around prince; and next to theSe, widening the circle, came the smaller caSenaS, like those of les CT rank. Then the fHnN a sN H. forming the outer guard, armed with bamboo and shielded by creeping vines. The phalanx was 70 solid the armament so per feet that no man or beast could penetrate it save by hidden path which perhaps nature had left for an ingrSs and esress to the fauna of that region; or, more likely. the more powerful bear had broken through to find a lair The whole from the top.nosi cypress boush to the least tyty was draped
 Eith gray moss minglins with the nut brown leaves of autumn, the myriads of crimsn casena berries and the evergreen tyty-pre- senting picturesque cone perhaps nowhere else seen. The marsh surrounding this queer spot varies in water depth from three inches tO four feet Underneath the water the mud varies in solubility, some places being ex- tremely soft and dangerous to the pedestrian But for bonnet roots and the thicker growth of maiden cane no man could cross it. The wonder is that anything but s webfoot ever did.
 Our party did cut their way through tyty, bamboo and what not for three days prior to the morning of entering the marsh, and at first it was somewhat of a relief to be able L. trudge forward with long view ahead without having to fight and dodge through the entangled mass of undergrowth. The change brought rested muscles into action and for a few hours we moved forward witt greater rapidity than at any time since entsrs ing the swamp The compass pointed the way, and that brave band of explorers never heSitated when one sank to his armpits and had to be pulled out by his feIlows-the civil engineers chain often serving for that extra uss-nor did they turn back when it became necessary to detour around an occa- sional alligator hole distinguished by Q pair or more of those huge amphibious creatures sircling the dark water with their young. But the strain on the muscles of the lower limbs never relaxed. We could not sit down and rest About noon the men began 10 show signs Of unusual fatigue. The dark swampwood, such as we had been in for three days, could be seen distinctly ahezd, but it was quite as far or further than we had tramped that morning, and the outlook was not al all cheering. Some distance<hort of that now coveted region gray object loomed up before our vision-riEht on our line-and we rightly divined that it was a little moss clad island in the marsh. We must reach it at all hazards before night.
 We halted for lunch-hard tack and bacon but there was no place, as stated above to Et down and rest the weary feet One poor fa11o-v f,--pd a haupar ,-oof ra.r tho e,rrf,-. of the water, which he sat upon to crush it and sink in the mud and water up to his neck. A young man in the party, whose spirits never Jagged, no matter how sore his feet were, sang out: Push along. boys; keep moving Let's eat when We reach wonder island '' But Dr. Little, the sea geologiSt, who WAS with the party, insisted that we should stop. if only for a few minutes and eat, for it would give us strength for the afternoons tramp. The wisdom of his SuS- gestion was at once seen by all, and We ate hurriedly from the scanty store in our packs, continually shifting the weight from one foot 10 the other, and as often moving the re- leased foot to prevent its sinking too deep into the null It was not a feast of the gods.
 We pressed on with hope and fear We thought we could reach the little island, a 1t seemed to us, by uightfall if TO lake or impassabls water lay on our route; 8pi who could tell what was ahead in that desiicablc boz, Tho thought of encounterinC a deep lake was no. at all pleasant. The day quite gone. possibly, and not dry tussock within eight or ten hours tramp, No place to sit or lie. much les to sleep, on a chill Noven- Der night No torch; no lantern; the com pass in our hands would fail to keep us from wandering round and round in the darkness and gloom and mud as most men do, it is said. until daylight If human endurance could stand the strain until them. It k not pleasant to think about the possible situation afterward.
 About 2 in the afternoon a few drifting clouds. apparently thrown together just over In front Uf us by counter currents of air, brought forth light shower, and the declin- ing sun at our backs produced a beautiful rainbow which spanned directly across our route eastward. It was an unusual sight for the time of year. When we nt last ap- preached within a hundred yards of the little oasis above described, we encountered the severest quagmirs we had yet seen. All along we had been measuring the distance trAveled with a chain. that instrument being handled by a couplo of negroes. Here thcro were several applicants anxious to relieve the bows, knowing that it would add to one safety to have hold of a chain with man at the other end. Dr. Littls was the first victim. He went down to the armpits and struggled desperately 10 eItricate himself, but Q comrade near, who stood upon frner foundation, pointed the muzzle of his gun to him. which he seized and helped himself out. It was decided then the eight in the party should dispose themselves along the chain, one hand gripped to it, and with strong negro at each end pull to the shore. We were about an hour travelling that ono hun dred yards. Sometimes as many as four O! the eight would be stuck at once, and the other four would have to hold the chain against the weight of those struggling 10 ge: out, and outlines the pressure thus brought upon those who stood upoa friner footing would send them down, wEo would ID ttrR have 10 be helped out
 When at last ws rsached the litLs isiaaJ